Improvement in eailways



@with tant @anni @frn ZEBI'NA EASTMAN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS. Letters Patent No.. 68,421, dated September 3, 1867.

IMPROVEMENT IN RAILWAYS.

TO ALL WIIOM IT MAY CONCERN:

Beit known that I, ZEBINA EASTMAmof Chicago, in the county of Cook, and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Railways for Cars and Vehicles; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactvdescriptien of the nature, construction, and operation of thc same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which are made part ofithis specification, and in which- Figure l is a plan of a railway illustrating my improvement.

Figure 2 is a vertical transverse section of the railway with the wheelsgrunning thereon; and

Figure 3 is a view similar to fig. 2, with a. modication.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several gures.

In carrying out my invention, I construct rails for street and other roads or ways of a concave, grooved, or cup form, and form the same with a rib er ange on their under sides to strengthen the rails and also to insert and hold them tightly in position. Wdien the rails are laid their top surfaces lie flush or even with the ground, paving, or way on erin which they arelaid. The wheels of the street or other cars which are to run upon such rails are formed withconvcx rims, or, in other words, the rims of the wheels have a configuration negative to that of the surface of the rails in or upon which they run. The rim of the wheel is somewhat smaller or narrower than the grooves or concavities of the rails in order that the bearing point of the wheel shall be confined to a small surface so as to avoid friction and enable the wheels to travel with freedom. The upper surface of the rail at each side of the groove is notched or suitably roughened to prevent the horses from slipping.

In order that others skilled in the' art to which my invention apporta-ins may be enabled to fully understand. and use thc same, I will proceed to describe it in detail.

In the accompanying drawings, a a may represent a pair of rails or trams which are formed with concavities in their upper surfaces, as shown in fig. 2. b is the rib formed on the under side ofthe rail or tram and inserted intov the grooves of the bearings c', which are formed on the ends of the ties e, which may be bolted to wooden sleepers or otherwise secured. Z d, lig. 2, represent the wheels with convex rims somewhat narrower than the grooves of the rails a a, so that the wheels shall have but a small frictional surface, and at the same time be allowed a degree of lateral play in order to adapt the car or vehicle to run easily and prevent binding or running olf the track in turning curves. By referring to the drawings it will bc seen 'that the highest points of the rails a a are flush or even withthe surface of the roadway, paving, or thoroughfare upon which the railway or tram is to be laid. Hence the wheels of cars or vehicles may bc readily run upon or off of the rails, while the latter do not constitute any obstruction tothe passage across them of the wheels of wagons and carriages. In cities the rails thus formed and laid form a common railway or tram upon or in which cars, carriages, wagons, and vehicles of every description may run with equal facility, inasmuch as the rails t are especially adapted for the reception of the Wheels of ordinary vehicles, whose rims are invariably made with agreater or Vless degree of convexity. The upper surface of each rail a, at either side of the concavity therein, is formed with square notches a about one-half of an inch broad, about the same distance apart, and about one-quarter of an inch in depth. 'Ihis notchingis designed to forma rough surface for the horses shoes in order to prevent slipping when the horses tread upon the rails. As a rule I use rails or trams with a concave surface on both sides of the road cr way, but sometimes, however, I employ the tram or rail with a concave surface on one side of the track only, and on the other side I lay or secure i'n the ground a lat rail, consisting of a plate or piece of iron somewhat broader than the concave rail, as shown in section in fig. 3. By this means cars or carriages of different widths are enabled to run freely and easily on the tram with the wheels on one side in thc groovcd rail and the wheelso'nthe other side on the flatrail.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new herein, and desire'to secure by Letters Iatcnt, is

The rail a, having a longitudinal groove or concavity in its upper surface adapted for the reception of ,the convex rims of wheels of cars and other vehicles, and formed with a downwardly projecting rim, 6, for securing the rail in position upon the ties, when the upper edge of the rail on each side of the groove is notched in thc manner and for the purpose described.

ZEBINA. EASTMAN.

Witnesses:

WILLIAM BAKER, AMos COLE GREENSLADE. 

